A Forum for Orthodox Jewish thought on Halacha, Hashkafa, and the social issues of our time.

Thursday, August 04, 2016

Victims (Survivors) of Abuse Come First

Four of the defendants (Ynet)

Everything I’ve ever heard about the Belzer Rebbe has been
inspiring to me. I am not a Chasid, nor do I agree with the philosophy of
Chasidus. But I still admire Chasdic Rebbes like the Belzer Rebbe. I recall
that when Israel was attacked by Hamas rockets in 2014, The Belzer rebbe told
students in the Belzer Yeshivos - not to
take summer vacations but instead continue learning Torah for the Zechus
(merit) of the soldiers fighting in Gaza. I recall The Belzer rebbe being one
of the first to visit soldiers injured in that war.

The Rebbe is one of the
biggest champions of Baalei Teshuva in the Torah world - having personally
mentored many of them. Not to become Belzer Chasidm, but just to become
observant... And at their own pace. Without any pressure. Once they become observant they are fully included and treated as though they were born observant. Unlike the way some observant Jews treat Baalei Teshuva as second class citizens.

This is not to say that I agree with everything he has said or
done. But he certainly deserves universal recognition and praise for the things he’s
done for Klal Yisroel.

Which makes a report in the different news sources so sad. For the Belzer Rebbe, his Chasidim and for
all religious Jewry. I truly regret
trauma that the Belzer Rebbe and all of his Chasidim no doubt must be going
through. Three different news sources, Ynet, Times of Israel, and the Forward
have reported that six Belzer Mechanchim that teach at a Belz Talmud Torah in
Tel Aviv have been being indicted for child abuse. 22 victims were allegedly
abused.

The descriptions of that abuse as described are hard to
read. And if true, students there can’t be blamed for referring to that school
as Bergen-Belsen, the infamous Nazi Concentration Camp. From Ynet:

According to the indictments, the offenses were allegedly
committed over the course of 11 years from 2000 to 2011 against 22 complainants
aged 3-10, who were taught by the defendants.During that time, the defendants committed daily physical
and emotional violence against the students, which was characterized by
cruelty, humiliation, and intimidation.

I am not going to publish the details of that abuse as
described in those news reports. They are just too sickening.

5 of the 6 defendants are accused of physical and emotional
cruelty. They have denied those charges and tried to explain them away in their
individual contexts - calling some of those instances of cruelty - jokes! Well,
it’s hardly a joke to the victims. They will no doubt be traumatized for a long
time. These are the kind of ‘jokes’ that can easily lead a child to go OTD or
worse, God forbid.

The sixth defendant, Avraham Mordechai Rosenfeld, is truly
the sickest of them all. If even half of
what he is accused of is true, it makes him a real piece of human garbage. And
exceedingly worthy of being called by the nickname of Rosenazi!

He is accused
of raping these boys and committing the some of the most disgusting and vile acts of physical,
emotional and spiritual damage one can imagine. To say that he is a sociopath is an understatement. If convicted, he should be put away for life! (If I understand correctly sociopaths cannot be rehabilitated.)

How he and his co-defendants were able go on like this for 11 years is a question
that needs to be answered. I don’t know where the buck stops in that Cheder.
But someone dropped the ball there. And I am being kind.

I don’t understand how that kind of cruelty could be hidden
from administrators for so long. Surely they must have known about their
school’s nickname of Bergen-Belsen. What possible motive can they have for
ignoring it?

If it was to protect the reputation of that school… well
that just follows a pattern of behavior that used to be the case in all schools
– including non Jewish ones - and is now recognized as belonging to the ‘dark
ages’. Perhaps this school still operates on the premise that protecting the
school is more important than protecting the individual victims. If that’s the
case, that school needs to close. What’s left of its reputation is not worth
protecting in any case.

In any case, I can’t imagine the emotional pain these
victims – or better survivors - must be going through. They deserve justice.
The ultimate ‘buck’ in Belz stops with
the Rebbe. It is my sincere hope that the Belzer Rebbe’s reputation for caring
about the welfare of every single Jew – regardless of how religious he is or
not – is extended to these victims who are the children of his own Chasidim.

Now I’m sure that the Rebbe had absolutely no knowledge of
what was going on at that school. But as the leader of the entire Belz
Chasidus, I would think he feels responsible nonetheless… and makes sure that
those boys get what they need to heal. And if I’m right about him, I’m sure he
will.

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About Me

My outlook on Judaism is based mostly on the teachings of my primary Rebbe, Rabbi Aaron Soloveichik from whom I received my rabbinic ordination. It is also based on a search for spiritual truth. Among the various sources that put me on the right path, two great philosophic works stand out: “Halakhic Man” and “Lonely Man of Faith” authored by the pre-eminent Jewish philosopher and theologian, Rabbi, Dr. Joseph B. Soloveitchik. Of great significance is Rabbi, Dr. Norman Lamm's conceptualization and models of Torah U’Mada and Dr. Eliezer Berkovits who introduced me to the world of philosophic thought. Among my early influences were two pioneers of American Elementary Torah Chinuch, Rabbis Shmuel Kaufman and Yaakov Levi. The Yeshivos I attended were Yeshivas Telshe for early high school and more significantly, the Hebrew Theological College where for a period of ten years, my Rebbeim included such great Rabbinic figures as Rabbis Mordechai Rogov, Shmaryahu Meltzer, Yaakov Perlow, Herzl Kaplan, and Selig Starr. I also attended Roosevelt University where I received my Bachelor's Degree - majoring in Psychology.